Jump to content

dc oldtimer

Members
  • Posts

    827
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by dc oldtimer

  1. 2 hours ago, ThirdValvesAreForWimps said:

    No.  The Dark Years refers to a specific time in Cavaliers history which is generally accepted as beginning in the late 1970s and extending through much of the 1980s.  I marched from 1980-1983. 

    Correct. The years when we took 16th place and fought HARD making finals. 

    The time periods before and after those years where prime years of being one of the elite in the activity and many VFW, Legion and DCI Championships. 

    • Like 1
  2. 3 hours ago, ThirdValvesAreForWimps said:

    Might we also discuss your "The Dark Years" reference in your signature block, Mitch?  Many fans of The Cavaliers do not know what that means.  It was the time of zero championships and resetting ourselves and finding our way forward with a new identity. For those of us who marched during The Dark Years, we feel a special closeness to both the past and future of The Cavaliers because we marched knowing we were given substandard shows which could not possibly compete, we had certain instructors who had no business being around a world class corps, and we won a lot of fans in the process because we performed exceptionally well.  People forget we nearly folded in the early 1980s prior to Rosemont sponsorship.  Still, we practiced hard, beat some corps from time to time and lost from time to time, but we kept The Cavaliers in DCI Finals, sometimes barely making it.  We kept the dream alive and I don't regret a moment I ever spent with my brothers.  We had immense talent and great energy and to see our current marching members enjoy such success makes us all proud.

    We can write a book can't we?

    Yes, very dark years where we nearly folded..... twice. Only to be saved by The Cavalier Cadets/Alumni and then Rosemont. 

    The difficult times made us so much stronger later in our drum corps careers and in life. 

    • Like 3
  3. 45 minutes ago, mjoakes said:

    Right now, I just can't imagine what the thinking is behind closing out this gutsy, fun, athletic show with such a wonderful piece of music when you rely on a recorded vocal and not solely on those guys' chops.

    Well, if you haven't noticed over the last, well, 50 years, rarely does the ending of any show of any corps that we see in mid-June makes it in the show come Saturday at Finals. 

    ..... patience young Jedi. 

    • Like 3
  4. On 6/4/2017 at 2:22 PM, PopcornEater1963 said:

    Don't know if that's the membership or the material they are playing or perhaps both. But to my ears, a marked uptick in brass performance. 

     

    First, as an FMM I welcome your son to the Brotherhood. He made a wise choice. 

    Second, at a VERY early camp I attended, a staff member announced before a very short preview by the brass that as a staff, they "upped their game" as a progression from last year and the higher level of membership. I.e. Talent. 

    So, it's seemed to be both. 

    • Like 1
  5. After 40 years of being part of this activity I can tell the OP this is not the norm. Are there snobs in the stands? Yep. Are there people who look at you and judge if you are from a corps they dislike? Yep.

    But all in all the people in the stands will talk to you about drum corps because this is not a main stream passion for most of this country like football (of the American kind) is. We are a tight group but I have found that passions run deep and you have to have a thick skin sometimes...... not unlike what's required here on this site.

    We sat in front of two local Rockford residents at the Rockford show. It was their first show ever and it sounded like they may have received some free tickets. Maybe as a good faith jester to the local home owners who were invaded by.... well.... us. Some corps do this and it's a good thing. Anyway they were a joy to talk to. After some chit chat I noticed they kind of didn't want to talk that much but this was a product of taking all this in for the first time. It can be rather overwhelming for newbies. Especially when the big corps start taking the field. And when Crown was done ..... well, I asked them what they thought and they couldn't answer exempt for a "wow". Still not sure if it was a good wow or bad wow.

    Anyway, I think many people in the stands are true "band geeks" and they just want to sit, listen

    and not interact too much so they can enjoy what is going on on the field. It is who we are but I have enjoyed many great conversations through the years and I love it when it's found that I know someone who they know..... which, of course can be good or bad :)

  6. Go back to moving the championships around the country.

    I am getting tired of Indianapolis. I love being able to drive to Indy but I liked planning mini-vacations around DCI to other parts of the country more: Orlando, LA, DC, etc. ...... but PLEASE NO MORE JACKSON MS's!!!!! That place was REALLY BAD!! If they want to remain indoors, there are plenty of indoor stadiums to choose from.

    • Like 4
  7. I recently talked to a REAL old timer who marched in the early-60's. You can see him gradually get redder and redder as he talked about what drum corp has become. He refuses to ever go to a show again unless the activity reverts back to "its roots". I suggested he start looking at the activity as I do 1) accept the fact that the drum corps we know and love is long gone 2) just listen to the frickin talent on that field. He looked at me like I had a third eye.

    After I've accepted these two things I've actually enjoyed going to shows including the fact that I see people I haven't seen in a long time is gravy. Although, it’s interesting, back in the day (seems all us oldtimers say this ..... now even the 30 year olds) I was able to sit through 20 shows a year, seeing the same shows over and over again. Now, after my wife and I watched Atlanta on FN, we are pretty much done for the year. We got “drum corps’d out” pretty quickly. Not sure if this is a commentary for today’s state of drum corps or we’re just old. :lookaround: ..... or both. We’re going to Indy pretty much just for the social aspect of it but if we had to fly someplace to see it, we probably wouldn’t go.

    • Like 2
  8. THEY ARE NOT CHILDREN (yes, I'm shouting. Notice the all caps and bolded word). They are adults. Young adults, but adults nonetheless.

    Disagree. Are you saying that these kids are ready for the real world the same as a 30 year old who's gone through college, worked a job of 10 years, is married with with three kids? I think not.

    It's one thing to treat them as adults helping them grow, it's another to expect them to be adults. Have you hung out at the mall lately? :rolleyes:

  9. As an aged drum corps fellow, I would never boo the kids on the field. They work WAY too hard to deserve that. I've been boo'd before and as a 19 year old kid (THESE ARE KIDS OUT THERE!!... yes, I'm shouting) I can tell you it rips your heart out.

    If I could I would boo the judges and the DCI organization as a whole. I'm sorry, I just don't get what the Blue Devils have been doing the last few years. After watching their show last night I shook my head not understanding how the judges are rewarding these shows. Again, no attack on the kids. They perform wonderfully. I keep hearing "clean wins" but come on, if that were true there are many corps out there that are clean and are not in the upper echelon of DCI.

    My fear is that others corps will start copying BD's success. I can't imagine seeing 10 shows like that on the field. If there is, I am done. Thank God for corps like Cadets, PR, SVC, etc. who keep me coming back as they present some resemblance of “drum corps” not WGI with horns.

    • Like 4
  10. As a Cavalier alum I can relay that our two organizations fully respect each other on and off the field. While sitting in the first row in Madison a few weeks ago I had goose bumps while the Scouts played YNWA and the alums in the stands singing to it. Something Ill never forget. It's what makes each corp so special to the ones who have marched in them.

    • Like 2
  11. The activity is what it is because that is what the people involved in the activity want it to be. We fans have -0- say so in it.

    I still remember the huge uproar when Bridgemen did their thing in the 70's. They were the first big corps to go outside the traditional military style, and got rewarded for it by the judges.

    In the 80s and 90s changes to the guard, drill and drumming evolved then the addition of B Flat brass.

    In the 2000s I honestly feel that drum corp has become a higher level of band without woodwinds. Period. I havent truly loved a show since the 80s but that is the traditionalist in me. I still attended because 1) I see people I havent seen in years 2) although its now band, the talent on the field is incredible.

    Now with what BD is doing, I truly feel we are in another transitional period and drum corps is now becoming WGI on a larger scale. Drills no longer are important. Staging and using body motions instead of marching are becoming the norm. Songs are dissected, sliced and diced to help better the overall concept a corps is trying to project.

    It is what it is and as long as the kids are getting something out of like I did back in the day then that is fine by me. I dont like what is being done on the field these days as far as show designs but, realistically, its not MY activity anymore. Its the kids activity. Period.

    • Like 1
  12. Moose in Colorado and millions of beetles the size of sparrows in Nebraska.

    While walking down a dark street in the middle of Nebraska looking for a convenience store;

    crunch, crunch

    "What the hell is that? Is the road.... moving?"

    crunch, crunch

    "No, these are bugs!!!"

    crunch, crunch

    "EEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYKKKKKKKKKKK!!!

    Scariest thing I've ever seen. 40 years later, still have nightmares about cleaning the bug guts off my shoes.

    • Like 1
  13. Music selections include:

    “Earth Song” by Michael Jackson

    “Wailers/PD7” Interweaving of Bobby McFerrin’s "Wailers" and Anoushka Shankar’s "PD7"

    “Here Comes the Flood” Peter Gabriel

    “Finding and Believing” Pat Metheny

    Sounds really good too! Wow, good job so far all corps!

    Darn, hoping for NIN!

  14. You mean like Ithica, NY (1), Philly, PA (2), Birmingham, AL (2), Montreal, Quebec (2), Miami, FL (1), Atlanta, GA (1), Orchard Park, NY (3), Foxborough, MA (2), Orlando, FL (4), and College Park, MD (1)...those 19 times (and I'm not counting twice in Birmingham)....just shy of HALF of the championships???

    I was assuming the OP was talking about a 10 year contract with Santa Clara like the one in Indy right now. Plus, you need to compare gas prices between now and when all those shows took place. I am sure the gas expense today with 4 buses, two semi's and the souvie truck and the price of gas today FAR bypasses the expense back during those championships.

  15. IMO the only good thing about Indy (besides the fact that I can drive there) is that it is centrally located for corps. The cost for the right coast corps to get to Cali every year would increase their overall budgets. And visa versa for the left coast corps if DCI was held in say, University of Maryland or New England every year.

  16. Rocketman,

    Agree, as I said in my initial post in this subject, one of the big things that happened in 76 was PR's emergence. They haven’t looked back since.

    I remember the beginning of 76 in Milwaukee. We kicked some serious butt and had a GREAT show. Blew down the stands. But, as you said, the next show in Loves Park was a different story but at the time we just passed it off as PR havning home court advantage. Ha! I don’t think the Cavaliers beat Phantom in any show until the mid-80’s after that, but I’m not a big stat guy so I may be wrong.

×
×
  • Create New...